M48A5 Patton
The M48A5 Patton is a tier 6 American main battle tank. About wip Playstyle The M48A5 Patton is a Main Battle Tank within the American branch. This tank primarily excels in its excellent armor penetration value, relatively good maneuverability, great gun performance, and low shell drop. This makes the A5 Patton capable of any kind of playstyle and situation. Its main strengths come at a price of a rather slower reload compared to other Main Battle Tanks such as the Centurion, a rather high profile, and a weaker turret compared to its hull. This makes the A5 Patton being spotted more easily, makes the tank unable to out reload faster MBTs such as the STA-1 or Centurion, and fight hull-down efficiently. When playing the M48A5 Patton, the tank is capable of being used as either a sniper or brawler as the tank's gun and overall statistics allow it. However, the tank will not be able to fight in hull-down positions as efficiently as the T32 due to the weak turret. The player is required to take advantage of the tank's strengths and avoiding to be exposed in order to play effectively in the tank. This means using the speed to get to areas or retreat relatively quickly, and avoiding shots on the weak turret. Pros * Great jack-of-all-trade tank for both game modes. * Good gun depression and elevation, suited for "hull-down" positioning on hilly terrain. * Excellent armor penetration. * Good maneuverability. * Low shell drop (akin to the Leopard). Cons * Easy target if immobilized. * Higher profile when compared to tanks of its tier. * Unreliable Turret armor. * Slower reload when compared to other MBTs. Trivia * Previously, the M48A5 was incorrectly labeled as the M48A1 but was corrected in the 1.12.19 Update. * As of the update, the tank had also been up-tiered from tier V to VI, causing many among the community to become displeased, as they believe the M48A5 Patton does not have the appropriate statistics to become a tier 6. The tank has become a new meta within the game despite of this. ** Changes brought on in later updates brought the tank closer to a tier 6 standard. The most important of which is its guns per shot damage, which has been buffed to the point where it can give the E-100 a run for its money, greatly negating the disadvantages of it's slower reload. Real Life Trivia * Most of its variants were exported to Pakistan after its decommissioning from the U.S. Army in the 1980s. * The A5 version of the Patton actually partially replaced more modern M60 MBT in Taiwanese service during the 1990s as the A5 upgrade of the Patton gave it similar capabilities at a much cheaper cost. History The search for the replacement of the M47 The M47 Patton tank only served as a stopgap in U.S. Army tank design due to the Korean tank panic. Before it could enter service, the tank suffered from inadequate and rushed testing, retaining technical problems, and inadequate supply in M12 optical rangefinders meant the M47 was too late to serve in the Korean conflict. Its only major improvement from the M46 was that it incorporated more sophisticated firing controls and its better-sloped turret and glacis plate. But even before it entered service, the U.S. Army had contracted the Chrysler Corporation in December 1950 to develop the M47s replacement, designated as the M48. M48 The major aim of the design team responsible for the M48 project was to develop a better armor layout and to incorporate a much larger turret ring. Essentially, the armor layout was derived from the T43 prototype, or what would become the M103 Heavy tank, and the assistant driver's spot was eliminated to create more space. The new M48 would've re-used the same engine and transmission used on the M47, along with similar suspension modified to use wider tracks. But as in the case of the M47, the fears of a third World War involving nuclear weapons forced over-hasty production schedules resulting in rushed testing. The first M48 pilot model rolled off the new tank plant in Newark, Delaware in 1952. The first units entered service in 1953 with the U.S. 2nd Armored Division. Therefore in 1955, the M47 was declared 'limited-standard' with a few hundred shipped for service in NATO countries under the MAP (Military Assistance Program) program. M48A1 Although nearly identical to its counterpart, the M48A1 had its original exposed .50 caliber machine gun removed from the turret roof and placed inside an enclosed M1 cupola. Inside, the commander could operate the .50 caliber machine gun and either traverse or elevate or depress the gun while being able to safely reload the gun inside. M48A5 Due to serious production delays in the M60A2 program, and inventory due to heavy tank losses in the Arab-Israeli War of 1967, left the U.S. Military short of battle tanks in a time where the U.S.S.R was increasing their T-62 stockpile at a great rate. But until sufficient M60A1 production can commence, it had been decided to modernize the outdated M48 Patton stockpile. These vehicles received immense upgrades to their engine and major fire control reworking as well as a new 105 mm M68 gun, under the designation M48A4. Conversions on the M48A3 proved less extensive, requiring the new M68 gun, ammunition stowage, and racks, a re-designed turret basket, T142 tracks, and other improvements. Category:United States Category:Tier 6 Category:Main Battle Tank Category:Non-Premium